The Rigby Group is the parent company of several privately owned businesses operating across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
The Rigby Group, incorporated in 1997, began its business activities in 1975. The net assets of The Rigby Group are estimated at over £500 million at the end of 2023.
In 2013 the company was ranked 13th in the ''
Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...
''’
Top Track 100 listing of the UK’s fastest growing private enterprises.
[Channel firms toast Top Track triumph, 26/6/1]
History
The Rigby Group was originally founded as a small computer recruitment company based in Birmingham, named Specialist Computer Recruitment (SCC).
In May 1992, Sir
Peter Rigby established the Rigby Foundation to invest in charitable causes relating to lifelong learning, health and education. Since 2024 the Rigby Foundation has focused its work on programmes that enable young people, regardless of their background, to access the best education possible and to have the chance of securing meaningful and sustainable employment. https://www.rigbyfoundation.org.uk/
The group’s hotel division, the Eden Hotel Collection, was founded in 1995 and currently comprises five hotels across the
Midlands
The Midlands is the central region of England, to the south of Northern England, to the north of southern England, to the east of Wales, and to the west of the North Sea. The Midlands comprises the ceremonial counties of Derbyshire, Herefor ...
and
South West of England.
In 2006, the group launched its real estate division, Rigby & Rigby.
In 2010, the group acquired
Coventry Airport from West Midlands Airport Ltd after it was forced to close in 2009 due to debt.
In 2013, the group expanded its aviation division by acquiring
British International Helicopters (BIH).
In June 2013, the group acquired
Exeter Airport
Exeter Airport , formerly ''Exeter International Airport'', is an international airport located at Clyst Honiton in East Devon, close to the city of Exeter and within the county of Devon, South West England. Exeter has a Civil Aviation Author ...
from Balfour Beatty. Sir Peter Rigby commented "that the purchase price was "significantly south" of the £60m paid by Balfour Beatty in 2007".
The following week, the group announced it had also acquired Regional and City Airport Management Limited from Balfour Beatty Plc and became responsible for the overall operation of
Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...
and
City of Derry and
Solent
The Solent ( ) is a strait between the Isle of Wight and mainland Great Britain; the major historic ports of Southampton and Portsmouth lie inland of its shores. It is about long and varies in width between , although the Hurst Spit whi ...
airports.
In 2014, the group acquired
Norwich Airport
Norwich Airport is an international airport in Norfolk, England, north of the city of Norwich. In 2023, Norwich Airport was the 25th busiest airport in the UK and busiest in East Anglia.
Norwich Airport has a Civil Aviation Authority (CAA ...
acquired for an undisclosed sum.
In September 2014, the group’s aviation division completed the acquisition of Capital Air Charter in Exeter, bringing both Capital Air Charter and Capital Air Ambulance services into the Rigby Group.
In 2017, the group acquired Helen Green Design and, in the following year, acquired Lawson Robb to bring together with their own design firm, Rigby & Rigby. Since 2018, these firms have all operated under the new Rigby Group Allect Design banner.
In 2017, the group also acquired
Bournemouth Airport
Bournemouth Airport (previously known as Hurn Airport and Bournemouth International Airport) is an international airport located north-northeast of Bournemouth, England. The site opened as RAF Hurn in 1941, but was transferred to civil con ...
from
Manchester Airports Group (MAG).
As of 2018, the group’s financial services division consisted of three companies: FluidOne, Nuvias and Rigby Capital.
According to the 2023 Global Family Index published by EY and the
University of St Gallen, The Rigby Group is one of the 500 largest family businesses globally.
In June 2024, the Rigby Group, in collaboration with Haatch and the West Midlands Co-Invest Fund, funded the ‘One to Win’ initiative, which aims to support tech start-ups in the West Midlands region.
The Rigby Group's headquarters are located in
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon ( ), commonly known as Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon (district), Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands region of Engl ...
.
Activities
Allect is an international design group. It is the stable for Rigby Group’s design and delivery business. The Allect design group comprises founding member Rigby & Rigby, Helen Green Design (acquired in 2017), and Lawson Robb (acquired in 2018).
[{{Cite web , date=5 June 2018 , title=Rigby Group assembles London's largest resi design practice , url=https://primeresi.com/rigby-group-assembles-londons-largest-resi-design-practice/ , website=primeresi.com]
References
Companies based in Birmingham, West Midlands
1975 establishments in the United Kingdom